It has been my distinct privilege to see some strange and wonderful things in my lifetime of wandering in the forests and streams of our land.
I have fallen out of trees, had fish hooks imbedded in my tender flesh, and lost a three foot long diamondback rattlesnake in my car. (I never did find that sucker.)
I have blown up beaver dams to prevent flooding, watched bears play and have seen them fight, and I have watched eagles mate.
I have seen crows mourn the loss of a mate, seen one blue heron attack and kill another, and seen a bald eagle carrying a large diamondback rattlesnake into the sky.
I've seen an albino raccoon in the woods and an albino muskrat on a northern stream.
I watched as a bullfrog ate a small cottonmouth water moccasin and witnessed a mob of raccoons kill one of their own kind.
I have seen a red shouldered hawk attack a pileated woodpecker, and a barred owl catch a large pine snake and eat it.
I have seen an alligator kill and eat a coral snake, a black bear run away from a diamondback rattler, and another run away from an alligator, and had a mink sit on the end of a log and watch me for the longest time as I sat no more than five feet away writing in my journal.
I have sat for hours and watched otters at play while being pooped on by a pair of nesting great blue herons.
I have been bluff-charged by black bears several times, mauled by an African lion and charged by an angry African elephant.
I have been kicked and bitten by a camel, chased by a bull elk that had murder in his eye, and ran over by a medium size black bear knocking me and my camera flat on the ground.
I have been bitten three times by poisonous snakes, had a large cottonmouth water moccasin try to climb onto my shoulder, been bee, hornet, wasp and scorpion stung, and had the distinct pleasure of being kissed by a scarlet velvet ant, an experience I could very well have done without. There is a reason they are called "Cow Killers"!
I have been chased by mama alligators while stealing eggs from their nests for a captive breeding program, handled a fourteen foot long king cobra, and had an African spotted leopard blown off the top of me with a ten gauge, double barreled shotgun.
And do you know what?
I am anxious to see what is going to happen next!
Aint life grand?
More! Please Lord, give me more!
Dear Lord, thank you for giving me a great interest in, and love for nature. Thank you for watching over the boy so that I could become a man (I still need you to watch over me). Thank you for giving me an active imagination. Thank you, O God. Please lead me into places where the wild things remain; show me sights that so many people miss; and keep protecting me, as I am sure I am going to need your protection in the future. You are a glorious God, a precious and faithful friend, the One that I can depend on forever. Help me to be a blessing to others, and a true friend, always ready to give a helping hand, a ready smile, a kind word. Keep teaching me, guiding me, counseling me, and showing me the right way. Thank you O Holy God, thank you. In Jesus' wonderful name I ask these things, Amen
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